MTV shut down its music channels across UK and Europe

MTV has shut down its channels across the United Kingdom and Europe - bringing to a close one of the most influential chapters in television and music history. After 44 years on air, the move signals not just a business decision, but a cultural turning point in how audiences discover and consume music.

Entertainment giant Paramount Global has confirmed that the channels will cease broadcasting permanently by 31 December 2025. Five well-known stations are affected: MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV and MTV Live.

The shutdown will begin in the UK and Ireland, before extending to France, Germany, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Australia and Brazil. The decision comes as Paramount Global undertakes aggressive cost-cutting measures amid its merger with Skydance Media this year.

Beyond financial pressures, the move reflects a long-running shift in viewing habits. Music television has been steadily losing ground to social media platforms and streaming services, which now dominate how fans access and engage with music. While MTV channels once offered a shared, communal experience of music discovery, audiences increasingly favour personalised, on-demand consumption.

MTV launched in the United States in 1981 and quickly became a global cultural force. In a moment that now feels prophetic, the first video aired was ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ by The Buggles.

What followed were defining pop culture milestones: the premiere of Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ video in December 1983; David Bowie challenging the channel over its treatment of Black artists on MTV News; the arrival of The Real World as a pioneering reality show in the early 1990s; Nirvana pushing grunge into the mainstream with heavy rotation of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’; and headline-grabbing moments such as the Courtney Love and Madonna clash.

MTV expanded into Europe in 1987, where it went on to shape youth culture across the continent. Programmes such as MTV Unplugged became institutions in their own right, while music videos evolved into ambitious artistic statements. The channel played a crucial role in launching global careers, spreading fashion trends across borders and defining the look and sound of successive generations.

By the 2010s, however, traditional music television had begun to feel outdated. The rise of YouTube, social media and on-demand streaming fundamentally changed audience expectations, eroding the relevance of scheduled music programming.

The MTV brand will continue to exist through digital platforms and flagship events such as the VMAs and EMAs. Yet when the final music channels go dark on the last day of 2025, an era of music television that shaped childhoods and youth culture for decades will come to an end.